Damascus: Security forces have surrounded the coastal city of Baniyas, activists say, days after tanks and troops took control of Deraa in the south. Soldiers have blocked the northern and southern entrances to the city, and the government has armed its supporters in nearby villages, the activists say.
The number of arrests around the country has risen to 1,000, they add.
The International Red Cross has appealed for access to the injured and arrested, especially in Deraa.
Rights groups say 560 people have been killed across the country in protests against the repressive rule of President Bashar al-Assad.
The government’s position is still that the demonstrators are militant criminals and not – as evidence from the ground suggests – ordinary civilians calling for political reform.
The interior ministry set a deadline of May 15 for protestors who had committed “unlawful acts” to give themselves up.
The government is keeping up efforts to try and bring an end to five weeks of rebellion.
“The Syrian authorities sent military reinforcements and thugs to the areas in the city centre [including the main market],” a young activist from Baniyas who is helping to organise the demonstrations has told the media.
“The city is facing militias from the east and military forces from the south and north sides,” he added.
The latest operation comes after Assad sent tanks and soldiers into the southern city of Deraa, where the uprising broke out in mid-March.
On Tuesday, a resident who fled to Damascus told the media that the hospitals in Deraa have become like military barracks.
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